The Death of Life
The Death of Life is an action-adventure video game developed by Nice Cat, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and distributed by Disney Interactive Studios, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 3 on July 11, 2013. The game follows the stories of Blake Hearn, a soldier who is assigned to escort a young girl named Misty across a post-apocalyptic United States, while the other part follows Pocahontas and Quasimodo, and The Iron Giant as they travel across the post-apocalyptic world while being accompanied by a young lion cub named Kopa. Development on The Death of Life began in 2009 after the release of Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. The relationships between Blake, Misty, Quasimodo, Pocahontas, The Iron Giant, and Kopa became the central focus of the game, with all other elements developed around it. Actors Matt Damon, Rumer Willis, Grace Park, Chris O'Donnell, Pete L. J. Dickson, and Jonah Bobo portrayed Blake, Misty, Pocahontas, Quasimodo, The Iron Giant, and Kopa respectively through voice and motion capture. The original score was composed and performed by Bear McCreary. Following it's announcement in December 2011, The Death of Life was widely anticipated. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim. Praise was directed at its story, narrative, gameplay, visual and sound design, characterization, voice cast, depiction of Disney and Warner Bros. characters, and Damon, Willis, O'Donnell, Park, Dickson, and Bobo's performances as the main characters, although it was criticized for it's similarities to The Last of Us. The Death of Life became one of the best-selling games of 2013, selling over 1.2 million units in its first week and over seven million units within thirteen months. It won over fifteen awards and it is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Gameplay The Death of Life is an action adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Players traverse post-apocalyptic environments such as towns, buildings, and sewers to advance the story. Players use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to defend against hostile humans and robotic humanoids. For most of the game, players control Blake, a soldier of the Resistance against the humanoids, who is tasked with escorting a young girl named Misty across the United States with assistance from Timon and Pumbaa; and Quasimodo, who and Pocahontas are tasked with escorting a lion cub named Kopa (son of Simba and Nala); Misty, Kopa, and other companions are controlled by the artificial intelligence. In combat, players can use long-ranged weapons, such as rifles, shotguns, and bows, and short-range weapons such as handguns and short-barreled shotgun. Co-operative gameplay The game has an online cooperative mode for the campaign. Players control Pumbaa and Pocahontas, and have the same gameplay as the single-player. Multiplayer Alongside the campaign mode is an online multiplayer mode, which allows players to compete in several maps. In each multiplayer match, there are two enemy teams: four survivors and four scavengers, and there are three types of games for multiplayer to compete in, played in five different maps: the modes are Team Deathmatch, Private Rescue and Cry for Help. The first mode is a simple PvP combat scenario, with teams pitted against each other, and the winning team being the one to kill the opposing team in three separate matches. In the second mode, the "survivors" team must take medical supplies to a specific point on the map, while the "scavengers" must reach a certain number of kills, both within a ten-minute time limit. The third mode, Cry for Help, involves the "survivors" exploring the maps and retrieving batteries for defended radio beacons while being hunted by the "scavengers". Across all three modes, weapons and destroyable environments from the single-player campaign are carried over. Plot In June of 2013, a Scientist named Roberto (Tom Kane) creates a robot with his own intellect to create the S.M.A.R.T., a robot with a soulless ability. he then integrates it into the Fabrication Machine, an armature that can construct an army of war machines to destroy Roberto's enemies. Lacking a soul, the Fabrication Machine becomes so corrupted, sadistic, and bloodthirsty that it had the idea to exterminate all of Earth's population. The Fabrication Machine reprograms the other war machines to attack humanity, wiping out all plant, animal and microbial life with toxic gas and chemical weapons. In Chicago, Blake Hearn (Matt Damon) escapes the chaos with his brother James (Paul Walker), sister Vanessa (Ali Larter) and his son Kendall (Nicky Jones). As they flee, Kendall is shot by a drone and dies in Blake's arms. In 40 years later, Blake is part of the Resistance, a group combined with the Marines, Rangers, Navy and Airforce. He is then assigned by General Hortense (Christian Bale) to watch over a girl named Misty (Rumer Willis). Development Origin Development on The Death of Life, under the codename "Project Disney WB" or "DWB1", began after the release of Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident in September 2009. It was the first time in the company's history where Nice Cat split into two teams; while one team developed Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code (2011), the other began work on The Death of Life. Game director Chris Roberts and creative director Alex Hutchinson were chosen to lead development on The Death of Life. Story The game's Blake and Misty story was written by Marc Guggenheim along with Corey May, and comic book writer John Ney Rieber while Keith Arem wrote the Pocahontas, Quasimodo, Iron Giant, and Kopa side-story. The main goal was to make the story "believable". The team was also inspired by The Matrix, The Terminator, Back to the Future, Primer, and other films. The game directly explains the cause of the epidemic; Roberts attributed this to the team's focus on the characters, as opposed to the humanoids. While the team preferred to explain the events through subtext, they also decied to explicitly explain the cause of the epidemic. Roberts compared the subtext included in The Death of Life to that of Crysis 3 (2013). He felt that the latter had spawned various conversations within the industry, which he sees as a sign of a maturing industry. "I've seen enough good stories in books and film. Now I want to see them in video games," said Roberts. In order to make the game as realistic as possible, the team conducted extensive research for the setting. Taking influences from Terminator Salvation and 9'', Insomniac Canada created a world that would force players to utilize their limited supplies effectively. Roberts, Podeswa, and Hutchinson have also cited Leona Henner's "perfectionist mindset" and dedication to characters as an inspiration for the game's story; Henner worked as head writer and creative director on the ''Artemis Fowl series (2007–11). When writing the script, May, Rieber and Arem tried to exclude "fancy dialogue", keeping everything "short and natural". Community strategist Eric Monacelli has stated that the narrative's overarching themes are "love, loyalty and redemption", assuring their importance in the game, and fellow community strategist Arne Meyer said that the game's violence fit the narrative. Naughty Dog member Bruce Straley, the game director of The Last of Us, reiterated this, stating "you have to have the dark to have the light". Roberts agreed to Straley's statement saying "Without dark, there can't be light". In regards to the ending, the team intended for it to be open to interpretation. Early in the game's development, the team envisioned an ending in which Misty dies and she is not able to save Blake by herself, but then Quasimodo and Pocahontas would rescue Blake; this ending was scrapped, as the team felt that it was not conforming to the character arcs. Rieber rewrote the ending in which Blake would escape with Misty and Kopa, but would be confronted by the S.M.A.R.T. machine, and then the Giant would battle the S.M.A.R.T. machine to save his friends. This tested positive with the team. Voice casting and character development Blake is voiced by actor Matt Damon, while Misty is voiced by actress Rumer Willis. Their performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology; approximately 85% of the game's animations were recorded using motion capture, with remaining audio elements recorded later in a studio. Though the team quickly felt that Willis fit the role of Misty, they spent more time selecting the actor of Blake, as the chemistry between the two characters was imperative to the game. After Damon and Willis played alongside each other, the team realised that the former perfectly fit the role of Blake, despite the actor's young age. Roberts attributed Damon's voice and movement to the team's choice of casting him. Damon and Willis contributed greatly to the development of the characters. For example, Damon convinced Roberts that Blake would care for Tanya due to his loneliness, and Willis convinced Rieber to re-write the character of Misty in a stronger and more defensive manner. Some of the dialogue between the duo was improvised by the actors; Roberts attributed this to the fact that the script included an unnecessary amount of lines during gameplay sections, and he allowed the actors to choose what they felt was necessary. The characters of Blake and Misty were the basis of the game; the development between the characters was established first, and the game's other concepts followed. The character interactions were inspired by the relationship between Nathan Drake and Tenzin in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, in turn inspired by the video game Ico. The game's protagonists represent the two eras that are shown in the game; Blake represents the world before the apocalypse, having spent most of his life during this period, while Ellie represents the world after the apocalypse, as she was born in the post-apocalyptic world. While the former is emotionally damaged due to the loss that he has experienced, the latter maintains an optimistic view of life, having become familiar to the damaged world; spending time with each other saw these qualities overlapping, with Blake become more lively, and Misty learning more survival skills. When auditioning for the role, Damon read a phrase on the character sheet that stated Blake had "few moral lines left to cross", which became the "anchor point" to the character for him. Damon found great difficulty in filming the game's prologue, which features scenes with Blake and his son Kendall, portrayed by Nicky Jones. Upon later viewing of the first day of footage from the scene, Roberts felt that it could still be improved. When filming the scene again, Roberts explained to Damon how to perform it, and felt that it was the best take upon doing so. Though Damon initially found the take too "mechanical", he retroactively realised that he had been previously trying to impress audiences by his acting, and that it was "not what the scene needed". When portraying Misty, Willis faced challenges in performing scenes that made her feel uncomfortable. "There were some days when we would shoot things that even at my age made me feel a little uncomfortable," Willis described. Willis feels that video games rarely feature strong female characters such as Misty, and expressed her excitement to portray the role for this reason. When questioned about the inspiration for Misty as a gameplay feature, Roberts recalled when he and Podeswa were brainstorming ideas for Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident and created a mute character who would summon the player to follow them, creating a "beautiful" relationship through gameplay alone. Though this concept was never included in the final game, the idea was raised when the team were discussing a new project, ultimately inspiring Misty. Druckmann also felt inspired by the wars that took place in Syria and Afghanistan when creating Misty; he felt that conflict was a familiarity to the children in those countries, which is similar to Misty's view. For the Iron Giant, Pocahontas, Quasimodo, and Kopa sub-plot, Chris O'Donnell, and Grace Park were hired to voice Quasimodo and Pocahontas, respectively. O'Donnell and Park were very impressed with the game's story and felt it took alot of expereince to write the sub-plot of the game. Voice actor Jonah Bobo, who portrays protagonist Artemis Fowl II in Insomniac Canada's Artemis Fowl series, was picked to play the role of Kopa in the game. Bobo was impressed by the script, and Guggenheim's ability to write unique crossover characters. Veteran Canadian actor Pete L. J. Dickson was chosen to voice the Iron Giant in the game. When approached by Roberts about the role, Dickson immediately accepted the part, as he loved the 1999 animated film as a child. To portray the character, Dickson deepened his voice to make him sound more like the character, similar to Vin Diesel. Dickson was also chosen to play the role of Davis. When portraying as Davis, Dickson approached his personality from multiple perspectives, viewing Davis as a "survivor". Dickson empathized with Davis, stating that most of Davis' actions were understandable when considering the apocalyptic situation. He felt that Davis was initially attempting to protect Misty, who was viewed as a "glimmer of hope". Art design When designing the game from an artistic viewpoint, the team took various pieces of work as inspiration. Robert Polidori's photographs of Lower Ninth Ward following Hurricane Katrina were used as a reference point when designing the flooded areas of Pittsburgh. "Polidori did these amazingly beautiful, horrific photos... it's not just decay and rot and post-apocalyptic grey, it's a human world that we're playing with when we portray this destruction," said Podeswa. Technology and gameplay development For The Death of Life, the team created two new in-house engines called Day and Night and Ocean Wave to satisfy their needs of the game. To represent the concept and have a detailed destruction system, the team created lots of environments which put the player character in the midst of chaos. The artificial intelligence (AI) was created to coordinate with players on an intimate level, as opposed to the action elements from their previous projects; the addition of Misty, Kopa, The Iron Giant, Donald Duck and Goofy as AI was also a major contributor to the engine. The team intentionally added a feature in which Misty remains close to Blake, in order to avoid being conceived as a "burden". Programmer Taylor Dyke stated that, when working on Misty as AI, he tried to imagine her experiences throughout the game's events, in an attempt to achieve realism. The enemy AI, considered one of the most important features of the game, was developed to make random choices; they study their surroundings, finding tactics to attack the player. This uniqueness to gameplay was a factor into the attempt at making players feel emotions towards the enemies. There are multiple features omitted from the game that the team considered typical of most video games, such as boss fights. A traditional cover system was excluded for the game as the team wanted players to constantly move around. The team also attempted to cause players to feel as though they are lacking, particularly in the supplies that they collect. "You're not building yourself into a tank," said Hutchinson. This also motivated many of the design decisions of the gameplay, such as the weightlessness of the animations, and the melee combat mechanic. To further add to the realism, the team developed the game's combat mechanic in a way that forces players to spend more time planning. They also wanted players to be forced to retreat from combat after alerting the Mechs, despite their belief that retreating is the "anti-video game play mechanic". The combat mechanic was developed to feel intense, intentionally moving the camera closer to players, in order for them to "feel every strike". The team felt that the game forces players to make difficult choices, in terms of combat, stealth and resource management, allowing them to understand the decisions made by the characters. Music The Death of Life s soundtrack was composed by Bear McCreary, whose previous work includes The Walking Dead. Throughout development, Roberts and Podeswa had been compiling various musical tracks that they found inspirational. When searching for a composer to work on the game's music, they realised that many of the compiled tracks were composed by McCreary. Marketing Announcement A few weeks before the game's announcement, a billboard in Times Square teased the game, naming it a "PlayStation 3 exclusive you won't believe". Sony officially unveiled the game on December 10, 2011, at the Spike Video Game Awards. Shortly after the unveiling, Insomniac Canada president Brian Lindley revealed details about the game: }} In January 2013, Nice Cat announced that The Death of Life would miss its intended release date of June 14, 2013, delaying it until July 11, 2013 to allow for further polishing, and to avoid competing with Naughty Dog's own game The Last of Us. "Instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Death of Life was up to Insomniac Canada’s internal high standards," Nice Cat stated in a press release. Other marketing A demo for The Death of Life was included with all copies of God of War: Ascension, and was available from May 31, 2013 until the game's launch. To encourage pre-order sales, Insomniac Canada collaborated with several retail outlets to provide special edition versions of the game. The "Post-Pandemic Edition" includes a unique case packaging, a statue of Blake and Misty and unlock codes for additional content in the single-player and multiplayer modes. The "Blake Edition Edition" and "Misty Edition" include similar contents, but contain some features that are often differentiated by the characters. Reception Critical response | Allgame = 9/10 | Amtix = 8.9/10 | Edge = 9/10 | EGM = 10/10 | EuroG = 10/10 | Fam = 93% | G4 = 9.5/10 | GI = 9/10 | GamePro = 10/10 | GSpot = 9/10 | GRadar = 10/10 | GT = 9.2/10 | IGN = 10/10 | Joystiq = | OPM = 9.6/10 | OPMUK = 10/10 | Poly = 9.5/10 | rev1 = The Guardian | rev1Score = | rev2 = The Daily Telegraph | rev2Score = | rev3 = PC Advisor | rev3Score = }} The Death of Life received widespread critical acclaim. Metacritic calculated an average score of 95 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 98 reviews. It is the sixth-highest rated PlayStation 3 game on Metacritic. Reviewers praised the character development, story and subtext, visual and sound design, artificial-intelligence, and depiction of Disney and Warner Bros. characters. The game is considered one of the most significant titles of the seventh generation of video games, and has been included among the greatest video games of all time. Mitch Dyer of IGN called The Death of Life "a Disney/Warner Bros. masterpiece" and "Sony's best seventh-generation game", and Edge considered it "the most riveting, emotionally resonant story-driven epic" of the console generation. Oli Welsh of Eurogamer wrote that it is "a beacon of hope" for the action-adventure genre; Andy Kelly of Computer and Video Games declared it "Nice Cat's greatest moment". Offical PlayStation Magazine - UK believed that the game was "Disney and Warner Bros' most unforgettable tell of friendship and survival". Kelly of Computer and Video Games found the story memorable, and IGN's Moriarty named it one of the game's standout features. PlayStation Official Magazine s David Meikleham wrote that the pacing contributed to the improvement of the story, stating that there is "a real sense of time elapsed and journey traveled along every step of the way", and Destructoid's Jim Sterling lauded the game's suspenseful moments. Richard Mitchell of Joystiq found that the narrative improved the character relationships. Xbox Offical Magazine s Ryan McCaffrey said that the Iron Giant, Kopa, Pocahontas, and Quasimodo sub-plot was his most favourite moment of the game. The characters—particularly the relationship between Blake, Misty, Timon and Pumbaa and the relationship between Quasimodo, Pocahontas, Kopa, and The Iron Giant—received acclaim. Matt Helgeson of Game Informer wrote that the relationship felt identifiable, naming it "poignant" and "well-drawn". Eurogamer s Welsh wrote that the characters were developed with "real patience and skill", appreciating their emotional value, and Joystiq's Mitchell found the relationship "genuine" and emotional. PlayStation Official Magazine s Meikleham named Blake and Misty the best characters of any PlayStation 3 game, while IGN's Moriarty identified it as a highlight of the game. Kelly of Computer and Video Games named the characters "richly painted", feeling invested in their stories. Philip Kollar of Polygon felt that Kopa and Misty were believable, making it easier to develop a connection to them, and that the relationship between the characters was assisted by the game's optional conversations. The character performances also received praise, with Edge and Eurogamer s Welsh noting that the script improved as a result. The voice cast received considerable praise for they performances. Sales The Death of Life sold over 1.2 million units within six days of it's release. Three weeks after its release, the game sold over 3.3 million units. The game topped the charts in the United States.NPD July 2013 Sales: Hardware Charts Updated, Wii U and Vita Bomb, 3DS in FIrst. GameSpot. Eddie Makuch. August 15, 2013 at 4:11PM The Death of Life ultimately became the twelve best-selling game of 2013. References Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment Category:Nice Cat Category:Rated T games Category:2013 video games Category:PlayStation 3 games Category:Disney Games Category:Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment